Shiloh
by The Midnight Fox
Summary: A prequel to the movie. What happened before Alice came into Uncas life? A story of the loved ones we never forget and who shape us forever.
1. I Don't Remember

I do not own the characters from the movie last of the Mohicans or the places, i make no money off this story so please don't sue me. The only character I own in this story is Shiloh, so no stealing her please. Ok, an explanation before you begin is in order. This story is a prequel to the movie, I came up with the idea when Alexandra cameron asked "Why is Uncas with you, he should have settled with a woman and started a family by now"...Nathaniel was really quick to cover for Uncas there and I thought...what if he had loved someone prior to the movie. so that's what this story is about. No, it is not a Mary sue... I look nothing like the girl mentioned in this chapter. Please don't hate me for writing this, i love the Uncas/Alice pairing as much as the next person...I just had an idea I wanted to implement. Again, reviews are always welcome...I just hope I don't make anyone angry with this story. I also very much intend to finish "Count the stars", I will be writing these concurrently.

here goes!

Uncas could hear her voice ringing in his ears as he fell, hear her scream somewhere above him. He could feel his life ebbing away and felt as though he should be frightened, but there was no fear in him. Only a sense of sadness, the crush of defeat. He had scaled that mountain to save Alice but in the end he had failed her.

"_Alice,"_ he thought as he fell into blue. "_where are you now? Possibly dead or bleeding, or did my family arrive to save you."_

As his thoughts grew farther and farther apart, memories rose in his mind like phantoms. Faces danced before his eyes of people he had loved and lost. Then he saw _her_ face. He saw her face when she was happy, smiling at him with laughter in her eyes.

Uncas had only loved two women in his short life, and in the end he had been unable to save either. His last coherent thought before death came to claim him was one word, a name.

_Shiloh._

**Two Years earlier**

"Uncas, hold up a minute," Nathaniel called as the 17 year old ran on ahead of him.

"The buck is wounded, it ain't gonna be able to run very far."

Uncas did stop to wait for his brother but gave him an impatient look. He gave the animals they hunted far too little credit sometimes. If they had life in them they would keep moving, and the buck didn't look as though it were ready to give up yet. When Nathaniel had caught up to him they raced off into the trees after their kill, looking for a trail of blood or uneven tracks. Surprisingly they hit a fork in the path and found both. Uneven hoof prints going to the right and blood trailing off to the left. The two men looked at each other with confused eyes.

"Do ya think it leads in a circle," Nathaniel asked, indicating the paths with the barrel of his gun. Uncas shook his head, bewildered.

'It's possible," he responded, though he couldn't fathom why the buck would run in a circle. there were no other tracks to suggest it was being chased by a larger predator. Nathaniel shrugged and started down the hoof trail.

"Well, I'm taking this way," He said over his shoulder. "You try the right, if we meet in the middle we'll have our answer."

"And if we don't?" Uncas asked.

Nathaniel turned back to him and tossed him a riffle.

"If we don't, whoever comes across the buck first can fire a shot into the air. Just don't go so far into the woods that it can't be heard."

Then Nathaniel was gone and Uncas was faced with the trail of blood. With a sigh he hefted the riffle in his left hand and began down the path. The blood trail was sporadic at best, disappearing briefly and popping up again. Even if it wasn't the buck, something hurt had gone this way, he just wondered what. He followed the trail until it nearly dead ended into some brush. Then it was gone. It didn't make sense, even if something had died there and was removed there would still be some tell tale signs of a mess. It was just gone.

Then a movement in the brush caught his eye, a slight rustle to the branches that was too animated to be the wind. It was a slight movement but he was used to looking for subtle movements in the woods.

He crept to the brush cautiously, not wanting to startle whatever was hiding there. If it was the buck, it could still hurt him and would probably try if he wasn't careful. Quietly, carefully he approached the thick vegetation and gently moved some leaves aside. He expected to see the buck they had shot, breathing it's last into the earth. He even expected he might see another dead or dying animal. Instead, he saw a pair of dark eyes staring up at him.

For a moment, Uncas didn't know if what he was seeing was real and he froze. A girl, about his age, stared up at him from where she crouched in the bushes. Her curly dark hair fell about her face as she huddled there looking up at him. Her dress was the same as any other colonial girl in the area but she was no colonial. From the look of her she was at least half Indian.

He raked his eyes over her, and realized now where the blood trail had come from. She seemed to be covered in it. It was smeared all over the front of her dress, splattered on her face, he even thought there might be some in her hair. She held one arm tight to her chest and shrank from him as he knelt in front of her.

"I won't hurt you," he said in english, hoping that she could understand him. She seemed to, there was some flicker of understanding in her eyes.

"What happened to you," He asked, keeping his voice quiet and gentle. she looked as if she could bolt at any moment. Her eyebrows knitted for a moment as if she were thinking and she choked back something that might have been a sob. When she looked at him again, there were tears in her eyes.

"I don't remember," She whispered.


	2. A Dark Ghost

Ok, heres chapter 2 of the story. thanks for the review to the first chapter, whoever you are. Yes, i realize that my stories have these repeating elements (damsel in distress if you will). It's the way i've always written, it's what I like in stories. Thank you for being nice about it though, and not leaving an unkind review. Anyway, I think this is the most dialogue i've put in one section in all three stories. seemed appropriate I guess. Hope you enjoy!

**A Dark Ghost**

Uncas looked around him and tried to decide how to handle the situation. Though she was covered in blood, she didn't seem to actually be hurt. She was scared, that much was apparent. He fired a shot into the air and the noise seemed to frighten her. Her hands flew over her ears and she recoiled from the noise.

"Sorry," he said quietly and extended a hand to her. "I was sending up a signal for my brother."

She looked at the offered hand warily and didn't extend her own to take it.

"You should come out of there," he said gently, not lowering his hand. She stared at it a moment longer then slowly extended her own. Her fingers were long and slender, their grip surprisingly tight on his hand. He helped move the brush aside and pulled her to her feet. She was a little unsteady at first but managed to right herself with little help from him. She looked at him with haunted eyes and started to say something when Nathaniel stepped onto the path.

"So ya found it-" He trailed off when he caught sight of the girl, who moved a little behind Uncas when she saw him.

"Apparently you found something else," He finished taking in her bloody clothes and scared expression. He took a few steps closer to them and the girl panicked, backing away from him.

"Don't touch me," She hissed, nearly tripping as she backed into a tree. Uncas, grabbed his brother's arm to halt him and shook his head.

"Leave her be a moment, she's a bit skittish." He explained, keeping his eyes on her.

"That much I can see," He answered, then turned to look at his brother.

"Did she say what happened?" He asked, now keeping his voice as quiet as his brothers.

"She says she doesn't remember."

Nathaniel look back at her and lowered his riffle to the ground. She watched his every move like a cornered animal.

"You got a name, miss?" he asked, trying to keep the questions simple until they figured out what to do with her.

She pulled her left hand tight to her chest again and held it there. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two men as if she were sizing them up. For a long moment she was silent and Uncas began to wonder if she had forgotten her name too. She swallowed audibly before speaking.

"Shiloh," She answered quietly, her voice shaking a little. It was not an Indian name, It didn't sound like any of the names they often heard in town either. Where had she come from, this girl that looked Indian? Why the odd name, who was she?

"Shiloh," Nathaniel repeated, and took a step forward. "What happened to your arm?"

She shook her head and looked down at it.

"I don't know," She replied. Nathaniel stopped a little short of her, still giving her space but was close enough to touch her just the same.

"Let me look at it," He asked, not reaching for her but waiting for her to offer her arm. She looked over to Uncas for confirmation, trusting for some reason that he wouldn't let her be hurt. He nodded his head at her and she slowly extended her arm to his brother. There was a large gash below the wrist, closer to the forearm. It was nasty looking, and needed stitches, but the bleeding had stopped. Other than the wound on her arm she seemed unhurt. Nathaniel walked back to Uncas and talked to him in low tones.

"She seems traumatized but she ain't badly injured. That arm needs tending to though."

"What do we do," Uncas asked, glancing back at her. She was studying her fingers intently, lost in her own thoughts for the moment.

"Well, we can't leave her here," Nathaniel said, following his brothers gaze. "She'll have ta come back with us. Maybe father will have some better idea."

Then he grasped his brother by the shoulder and grinned.

"But you get ta be the one ta tell her"

"Why me?"

Nathaniel gave him a small push in her direction.

"Because she ain't afraid of you and I have to keeping looking for that buck. So explain things to her and I'll see you back at camp."

He didn't give his brother time to argue, he shouldered his riffle, nodded his head to Shiloh and walked back up the path. Uncas found himself alone with her and suddenly didn't know what to say. She was looking off after Nathaniel with confused eyes. Uncas cleared his throat to get her attention.

"We need to dress that arm," He said. "Would you...you can.." He stopped because he was tripping over his own tongue. He wasn't very good with women under normal circumstances and these were less than normal. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Will you come back to camp with me so we can dress that wound."

She tilted her head to one side and studied him. Not suspiciously, just vaguely surprised.

"You don't know me, why would you want to help" she asked.

"Because I don't think you have anywhere else to go," he answered truthfully.

They were silent then, studying each other. She studied his face, searching for some sign of his intentions then walked past him toward the path. When she got to it, she looked at him over her shoulder.

"Where's your camp?"

He sighed then walked up next to her and took her hand. With a gentle pull, he guided her up the uneven trail. She followed him silently, a dark ghost in all that hair. They didn't speak at all on the way back to camp, there was nothing to say.


End file.
